Holiday Retrospections

Posted on February 12 2018

Hello Monday my old friend….

Poor Monday, always gets a bad rep, it happens to be one of my favorite days of the week. The weekend’s over and I toss the two big kids out the door to the school bus. And Hubs is not home to comment on the one thing I did not clean. Amazing how that happens right? 95% of the house can be clean but its that 5% he comments on, never the 95% clean part. Well, I’m lying there’s no way 95% of my house is ever clean, unless it's up for sale. I digress … I can hardly wait to enjoy time with my toddler, right after I clean a space to do so.

The state of things after the weekend. Doesn’t everyone eat their Pops with red wine?

We survived the holidays around here, I don’t know that I’d go as far as to say we enjoyed them. that comes later when the kids are bigger and I can actually breathe instead of chasing them around. Holiday’s {sigh} I remember when I use to look forward to all the things they involved. Now I’m trying to strategically pump while doing my makeup and hoping the backup, of the back up sitter, does not cancel. [Mini rant: For the love of all things good, do not say you’ll babysit and then flake the day before. I’m looking at you youth of America. There is nothing worse than having to play rock, paper, scissors to decide which adult gets to attend an event because the sitter flaked.]

This is totally what cosmetics ads should look like, super glam huh?

So from a four-time mom, how to survive the holidays. Yes, I understand the December ones are over, but there are more to come. I’m in the mood for retrospection, which often brings things to mind I wish I would have done. Time to start planning for fun things like Valentine’s, Spring Break and Easter.

Keep things simple! I do not cook on Christmas, we brunch all day long. I plan out the food and assemble the day before and just set it out the day of. Things that need refrigeration I leave out for an hour and then put back in the fridge until the next snacking session a few hours later. And I switch up the menu yearly by changing out one thing from the year before. This year we did tea sandwiches (butter bread and they won’t get soggy if made the day before). Last year was a variety of dips, but they are out due to Bitties dairy allergy.

Set toddler expectations beforehand and stick to them. They don’t care you forgot just that one more stop that needs to be made. They are over it and want to watch Elmo and eat peanut butter directly out of the jar.

Enlist help to watch said toddlers while prepping. It doesn’t matter if you are making yourself a plate or setting out a plate of glam cookies, find a set of hands to keep the little ones occupied.

Streamline bathing. I might have taken this one a little far, desperate times call for desperate measures. In case you're wondering, in a pinch the toy sink does indeed hold a 10lb baby while your rinse your hair.

Don’t be afraid to ask if a worn little can come with you to an adult event (if the host says no don’t badger them though). But it’s hard to truly enjoy yourself while out if you're worried about whether they are eating or not at home. Loud parties are just like white noise to babies, they will pass right out. And an additional bonus, you have the perfect excuse to step away from a crowded room and recharge for a few minutes.

I’m always finding ways to make the following year less hectic, it's a system I’ll never stop modifying. Take joy in the small victories. Accept the family photo that features a child crying. Commit to less events. Unfollow Pinterest for the entire month leading up to a big event in your life. All those super fancy photos are by a paid designer anyways. Be in the moment. Perfect is overrated.